There aren't too many money managers on Wall Street who command the attention of professional and everyday investors quite like Warren Buffett. Since becoming CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A)(NYSE:BRK-B) in the mid-1960s, the aptly named "Oracle of Omaha" has overseen a jaw-dropping return of more than 5,470,000% in his company's Class A shares (BRK.A). When you handily outperform the S&P 500, you're going to gain notoriety.
In addition to running circles around Wall Street's benchmark index for nearly six decades, Buffett is appreciated for his open-book approach. Whether it's in his annual letter to shareholders or during the company's yearly shareholder meeting, Buffett regularly discusses the characteristics he looks for in investments and shares his thoughts on the U.S. economy and stock market.
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Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. Image source: The Motley Fool.
But perhaps the most-valuable piece of information shareholders receive is Berkshire's quarterly Form 13F, which is a filing that lays out the company's stock holdings, as well as which stocks Buffett is buying and selling. Excluding the two index funds Berkshire holds a relatively small position in -- index funds are comprised of baskets of securities, and are therefore not stocks -- Warren Buffett is overseeing a 44-stock, $291.2 billion investment portfolio at Berkshire Hathaway.
What follows is a detailed breakdown of every stock you'll find in the Oracle of Omaha's portfolio.
Warren Buffett's portfolio at Berkshire is highly concentrated into his best ideas
Arguably the most-defining trait of Buffett's investment approach is that he favors portfolio concentration. In other words, he prefers having an outsized percentage of Berkshire's capital invested in his best ideas. At the moment, nearly 75% of Berkshire's invested assets are tied up in just seven stocks (all market value data as of the close of trading on Dec. 19, 2024).
- Apple: $74,937,000,000
- American Express: $44,434,063,956
- Bank of America (NYSE:BAC): $33,242,330,942
- Coca-Cola: $24,980,000,000
- Chevron (NYSE:CVX): $16,741,876,874
- Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY): $11,579,569,929
- Moody's: $11,399,657,716
One of the bigger stories of 2024 among these top stocks has been Buffett's penchant to press the sell button. Berkshire Hathaway has been a net seller of equities in each of the last eight quarters, with this selling activity really ramping up in 2024 -- more than $127 billion in net stock sales through the first nine months of the year.
While Apple has accounted for the largest nominal-dollar sales amount, the recent paring of Berkshire's stake in Bank of America is perhaps more eye-opening. Buffett has parted ways with over 266 million shares since mid-July.
Given that financials are Buffett's favorite sector to invest in, selling 26% of Berkshire's stake in BofA is worrisome. Aside from locking in profits at an advantageously low tax rate, Buffett and his team may be concerned about lower interest rates adversely impacting Bank of America's net interest income. Likewise, the stock market is historically pricey, which may be enticing Berkshire's chief to build a massive cash position.
You'll also note that energy stocks are playing a key role in Berkshire's portfolio, with Chevron and Occidental closing in on a 10% combined share of invested assets. Both companies are integrated energy operators, but benefit first-and-foremost from their drilling operations. If the price of crude oil rises, Chevron and Occidental will be sitting pretty.
Image source: Getty Images.
The Oracle of Omaha is overseeing 20 other billion-dollar wagers at Berkshire Hathaway
Though Buffett's biggest wagers comprise the lion's share of invested assets, there are another 20 holdings that range in value from $1 billion to as much as $9.8 billion. Some of these positions are "indefinite" holdings for the Oracle of Omaha, as well as businesses that have really caught his attention.
- Kraft Heinz: $9,801,608,022
- Chubb (NYSE:CB): $7,384,548,437
- Mitsubishi (OTC:MSBHF)(OTC:MTSU.Y): $5,689,146,301
- Itochu (OTC:ITOCY)(OTC:ITOCF): $5,633,643,875
- DaVita: $5,325,540,398
- Mitsui (OTC:MITSY)(OTC:MITSF): $5,042,679,316
- Citigroup: $3,779,849,011
- Kroger: $3,048,000,000
- Visa: $2,612,704,205
- VeriSign : $2,479,052,179
- Sirius XM Holdings: $2,315,347,323
- Amazon: $2,232,900,000
- Sumitomo (OTC:SSUM.Y)(OTC:SSUM.F): $2,102,156,728
- Mastercard: $2,086,133,165
- Marubeni (OTC:MARUY): $1,997,747,403
- BYD: $1,847,682,841
- Capital One Financial: $1,598,506,000
- Aon: $1,450,375,000
- T-Mobile: $1,018,496,000
- Ally Financial: $1,004,270,000
The standouts of this group are the five Japanese trading houses that Buffett views as forever holdings: Mitsubishi, Itochu, Mitsui, Sumitomo, and Marubeni. The only reason these five stocks aren't larger holdings is because Berkshire is limited to no more than a 9.9% stake in each of the five.
The beauty of these five companies is they have their proverbial fingers in virtually every facet of Japan's economy. They're involved in oil and gas, food production, mining, textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and so on. If you believe the Japanese economy will grow over time, these five stocks offer a no-brainer way to take advantage of this growth.
Additionally, Mitsubishi, Itochu, Mitsui, Sumitomo, and Marubeni are all relatively cheap, compared to one of the priciest U.S. stock markets in history. Further, they're known for their low executive compensation packages and hearty capital-return programs.
Property and casualty insurer Chubb is another stock that clearly has Buffett's undivided attention. Chubb was the stock given "confidential treatment" between July 2023 and mid-May 2024 that Buffett secretly built up a sizable stake in.
Though the insurance business is quite boring, it's highly profitable. Chubb typically possesses strong premium pricing power and is currently taking advantage of higher Treasury yields to generate more interest income on its float (i.e., excess premium collected that hasn't been disbursed via claim).
A look at Buffett's smaller (sub-$1 billion) positions
The remaining holdings in Berkshire Hathaway's $291 billion portfolio range between $8 million and $995 million.
- Charter Communications: $995,474,255
- Nu Holdings: $892,914,839
- Liberty Live Series C: $736,396,234
- Liberty Formula One Series C: $730,929,987
- Louisiana-Pacific: $615,208,750
- Domino's Pizza (NYSE:DPZ): $546,205,756
- Liberty Live Series A : $331,657,968
- Heico Class A: $193,992,654
- Pool: $137,759,194
- NVR: $90,020,646
- Jefferies Financial Group: $32,629,575
- Diageo: $28,978,910
- Lennar Class B: $20,417,185
- Liberty Latin America Series A: $16,468,758
- Ulta Beauty: $10,298,861
- Atlanta Braves Holding Series C: $8,536,530
- Liberty Latin America Series C: $7,986,604
You'll note this section contains Buffett's favorite stock to buy from the third quarter, fast-food restaurant chain Domino's Pizza.
Domino's has been virtually unstoppable for 15 years thanks to ongoing product and process innovation, along with its ability to earn and retain trust with consumers. The company's latest five-year plan, dubbed "Hungry for MORE," is focused on improving product consistency, increasing output, and streamlining its supply chain, among other factors.
It's also worth pointing out that Domino's Pizza is on track to deliver its 31st consecutive year of same-store sales growth in international markets. The company's branding and product innovation are clearly on point -- and few investors understand consumer buying habits better than the Oracle of Omaha.
The other thing to note about these smaller holdings is that this is where you'll see the influence of Buffett's investing lieutenants, Todd Combs and Ted Weschler, come into play. Combs and Weschler tend to be more active than Buffett on the trading front, and they typically deal with positions ranging in size from $10 million to $1 billion. Chances are that Berkshire's holdings in homebuilders and Ulta Beauty are the doing of one or both of Buffett's top advisors.
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Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Ally is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Sean Williams has positions in Amazon, Bank of America, Mastercard, Sirius XM, and Visa. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, Chevron, Domino's Pizza, Jefferies Financial Group, Lennar, Mastercard, Moody's, NVR, Ulta Beauty, VeriSign, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends BYD Company, Diageo Plc, Heico, Kraft Heinz, Kroger, Nu Holdings, Occidental Petroleum, and T-Mobile US and recommends the following options: long January 2025 $370 calls on Mastercard and short January 2025 $380 calls on Mastercard. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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